Central Sensitization in Vulvodynia and Endometriosis: What Have We Been Overlooking So Far?

Giulia Emily Cetera, Camilla Erminia Maria Merli, Veronica Boero, Carlotta Caia, Federica Facchin, Giussy Barbara, Giussy Barbàra, Ermelinda Monti, Paolo Vercellini
Obstetrical & gynecological survey · 2023 · vol. 78(12) , pp. 745–758 · doi:10.1097/ogx.0000000000001183 · PMID:38134340 · W4389778786
article OA: green CC0 ⤵ 8 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This review collected evidence suggesting central sensitization plays a role in vulvodynia and endometriosis, noting altered serum markers, brain networks, reduced pain thresholds, and self-reported pain components.

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Abstract

Importance Women experience more frequent and greater pain than men, although they receive less adequate treatment and are perceived as more anxious than males. Recent clinical research has lead to hypothesize a common etiology for overlapping chronic pain conditions and mood disorders, namely, central sensitization, which originates from an alteration of pain processing pathways in the central nervous system. Objective The aim of this review was to collect all available evidence regarding the potential role of central sensitization in vulvodynia and endometriosis. Evidence Acquisition A systematic literature search was performed between July and August 2022 using the electronic database PubMed. The extracted data were summarized using a narrative approach. Results Ten articles were chosen for the review. Participants' mean age was 39.2 years (SD = 5.1). Among serum markers of central sensitization, nitric oxide levels were greater in women with endometriosis than in controls, whereas brain-derived neurotrophic factor and S100B levels differed among pain conditions with structural anomalies and those without. Functional magnetic resonance imaging showed different resting state networks between patients with endometriosis and controls. In neurophysiology studies, cases had reduced pain thresholds, compared with healthy controls. Lastly, self-reported questionnaires suggested a central component of pain in women with endometriosis-related dyspareunia and associated bladder/pelvic floor tenderness. Conclusions and Relevance The management of vulvodynia and endometriosis may benefit from a new perspective, which considers their possible central etiology. It is compelling that treatment of pain starts to be considered a therapeutic goal in its own right. Target Audience Obstetricians and gynecologists, family physicians. Learning Objectives After completing this activity, the learner should be better able to describe central sensitization as a common etiology for vulvodynia and endometriosis; explain how to investigate the presence of central sensitization with various techniques; identify the possible origin of vulvodynia and endometriosis pain; and discuss the importance of considering treatment of pain as a therapeutic goal.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715mesh:D017699endometriosisdyspareunia

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Vulvodynia Vulvodynia Vulvodynia Vulvodynia Abdominal Pain Abdominal Pain Adult Adult Central Nervous System Sensitization Central Nervous System Sensitization Female Female Humans Humans Male Male Pelvic Pain

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (27)

Cited by (8)

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europepmc
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